Text: Daniel 7

Dear Young People,

DEVELOPING GOOD HABITS WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING PROPHECIES
Prophecy is a hard subject to master. Nevertheless, we must try and understand what the Scriptures teach. It would be foolish to ignore what the Scriptures teach simply because the text is hard. There are many things in life that are hard. Sometimes the subjects that we study in school are hard. The only way to master hard subjects is to develop a good approach.

How should we study this hard subject of prophecy? Let us learn from the example of Daniel. We are immediately struck by the fact that Daniel was very observant. We read,

"I watched till thrones were put in place…" Daniel 7:9

"I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words…"
Daniel 7:11

"I watched till the beast was slain…" Daniel 7:11

" I was watching in the night visions…" Daniel 7:13

If we are to benefit much from our study of the Scriptures, we must recognize the fact that we have a part to play! We have to train ourselves to observe things.

In Daniel's case, he took careful note of all that he saw. In our case, we would have to take note of what Daniel observed. This means that we will have to train our powers of observation. We will also have to train our powers of understanding. We must dare to expend mental energy if we ever hope to understand Biblical prophecy. The lazy student will never understand the full import of what the Scriptures actually seek to teach!

FOCUS ON THE LORD!
One of the dangers when people study prophecies is to focus on everything else except the Lord! How wrong this is.

It is not wrong of course to ask for understanding of the details of the prophecy revealed. However, it would be foolish if we lose sight of the most important thing about prophecy.

Daniel was wise when He noticed that right at the heart of the Prophecy given to Him was The Ancient of Days, his special way of describing the Lord.

Prophecy reveals many things that will happen to the world. However, prophecy has an even more important function - it reveals the Lord as One who sits on His throne, in absolute control of the whole world. May our hearts be encouraged!

Prayerfully,                                                                             

Pastor Charlie

First released 14th October 2001, © Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church, Singapore